The Protector
by BlueAbstract
Summary: "Remember you must," Yoda said, "the Force leads us towards not what we always want, but what we need." Rating subject to change.


So this is my new fic, as you can tell it's a StarWars/Bleach crossover. Please do let me know what you think! The idea came to me ust randomly and I was going to just shelve it and focus on my other fic but the more I thought about it, the more I just _had_ to write it!

The end of this chapter might seem a little rushed, but hopefully that doesn't take away too much from the story.

Also this is not beta'd so if you see any mistakes, leave a review or pm and say something so that it can be corrected.

Any questions? you know what to do..

Read and Review! It keeps me writing more. So go on, hurry up and read it's not like people really need to read these anyway..

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Star Wars and Bleach are properties of their respective owners. I own nothing of this.<strong>

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><p>Ichigo was floating, surrounded by darkness.<p>

_ "Save us, Kurosaki-kun!"_

The cry pierced the jumbled cloud his thoughts were, giving him strength.

'She's calling me. I can hear her.'

_"Save us!"_

Almost like a movie screen, an image of Orihime crying beside his broken body appeared out of the dark. The image changed, now showing Uryu being kicked around by the transformed Ulquiorra.

'Get up…'

Ichigo searched hi soul.

'Get up!'

Reaching deeper than he'd ever gone before.

'Get Up!'

And finally finding his hollow in depths of his soul, ripped it to pieces in his desperation and merged together with them.

_"Kurosaki-kun"_

'Don't cry Orihime…'

He felt his power changing, becoming thicker, more potent, more primal.

'I'll protect you!'

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><p>Ulquiorra paused in his beating of the quincy as a vast spiritual pressure descended on the battlefield.<p>

"**GRRAAH**!"

"Impossible!" Ulquiorra turned to where the yellow orange barrier surrounded the man he had thought dead.

Ichigo knelt behind it, black reiryoku covering his face and pouring off his body. Ulquiorra watched as the human's body changed, skin turning white while black lines marked his chest. Red fur grew around his wrists, ankles and around the collar bone on either side of his neck. His orange hair grew, now reaching his lower back.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened in shock as the reiryoku covering Ichigo's face receded, revealing a full hollow mask.

Acting quickly he brought his hands together, green reiryoku pooling in between.

"Lanza del Relámpago!"

Grabbing the lance Ulquiorra darted forwards towards the transformed Ichigo who knelt behind the barrier.

The powerful arrancar thrust his lance forwards. He smirked, confident that he could strike the transformed substitute down.

Time seemed slowed to Ichigo as he struggled to form coherent thoughts.

'Who? Who am I protecting?' He tried to remember but with every passing moment more of him slipped away, his mind being overcome by the primal power that pulsed through him. An overwhelming drive to protect forcing it's way to the surface.

'No, not just protect' Ichigo yelled in his head, as he desperately fought a losing battle to stay in control of himself.

'Protect HER!'

The glowing lance connected with the shield blowing the majority of the roof of Las Noches to pieces.

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><p><em>30BBY, Kriffex<em>

Aayla Secura cautiously ventured into the large room that she had been drawn to in the prison. She shuddered as if cold, the room was saturated with the dark side of the force.

She scanned her surroundings, it was a unlike any room she had come across in the prison thus far. In the centre was a large stasis field generator that filled the room with it's low pitched hum. Inside the stasis was the body of a rather tall individual.

'Probably human' She mused as she shifted her focus onto a large black gate set into the far wall.

The gates were very tall, standing at least three times the hight of the Twi'lek and were covered in intricate designs that seemed like they were carved into the black stone. The handles were shaped to look like two halves of a skull-like full face mask.

Aayla stepped towards it, reaching out to the handles. There was a pounding in her head, it was almost like the force was urging her to open the gate. She wanted, no, _needed, _to open it. Her breaths came in gasps as she inched ever closer.

"Turn little Jedi."

Aayla froze, her hand centimetres away from the mask-like handle and the pounding receding into the back of her consciousness.

"Turn this way.. Look at _me_!"

Aayla twirled around to face the person floating in the stasis field. Their now open purple-blue eyes piercing her where she stood.

"I sensed you the moment you arrived on this planet little Jedi." spoke the being in a deep baritone, "I sensed your thoughts, scattered as they were, and sent out my thoughts_, _my will."

"Why?" She frowned not pleased that this person was influencing her thoughts.

The figure smirked not at all put out at being interrupted, "Because I need you, little Jedi."

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><p>Aayla's world was a blur as she spun her lightsaber as she clashed with the man that had killed her uncle.<p>

"Aayla! You don't have to do this! Come back to the light!"

"Shut up!" Aayla spat back, his incessant pleas only furthering her anger. "You killed my uncle! This is my vengeance!"

Her azure blade clashed with Quinlan Vos' green in a flurry of lights, their blades moving so fast that they became blurs.

All the while Volfe Karkko watched on, smirking as his future queen unknowingly beat upon her former master.

Aayla grunted and stumbled to her knees as the man shoved her lightsaber to the side and kicked her hard in the stomach.

"Aayla…" His voice was pleading. "Please, don't do this."

She met his sad eyes with a hate filled glare at him from her position on the floor. Surging to her feet and reigniting her blade she began to cross the room, raising her lightsaber in order to strike the man who killed her beloved uncle down.

Quinlan Vos sadly watched his apprentice advance across the chamber. He couldn't do this. Not to his padawan, the young woman he viewed like a daughter.

His fate decided, Vos relaxed out of his stance and stood tall. He deactivated his lightsaber, holding it by his side.

'If my death will help her find peace, then so be it.' He thought as he sent a last sad smile to his murderous apprentice. He closed his eyes ready to be one with the force.

"Goodbye, Aayla."

…

He tentatively opened his eyes when nothing happened. In front of him was the trembling blade of Aayla's lightsaber, hovering millimetres from his neck. Looking past to her face, he was met with tears free falling from his apprentice's eyes.

"Master..?"

He smiled, he had his padawan back.

"Yes Aayla, it's me."

She smiled through her tears as the glowing blade disappeared back into it's hilt.

"I'm sorry master, I.." She began only to be cut off.

"No Aayla," Vos said, smiling at her, "I'm sorry." He moved to embrace the tearful Twi'lek.

"Stupid Jedi!"

Aayla cried out in pain as she was blasted away with a powerful burst of Sith lightning.

"Aayla!" Quinlan watched as she flew across the room and impacted with a large set of gates. Growling he turned quickly to face the threat.

"Karkko!" he roared.

"My my, did I do something to upset you?" the dark Jedi mocked.

Quinlan Vos didn't reply instead he channeled his anger and released his own bolts of lightning at his opponent.

Karkko simply scoffed, "Only one who has allied with the dark side is supposed to be able to call on that. Have you crossed that line, pitiful Jedi?" He redirected it away to the side, "You are but a novice with it, while I… I am a master!"

Vos Jumped using the Force, narrowly avoiding the literal storm of lightning that had erupted from the finger tips of Karkko.

"Come little Jedi, show me your power!"

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><p>Aayla lay stunned against the gate, her every movement causing pain to course through her body. She watched through dimming vision as her real master fought a losing battle against her fake one.<p>

_'Open….'_

Aayla stiffened against the feeling of a vast consciousness brushing against her mind. The urge to open the gate once again surfaced.

_'Open the gate.'_

The urge turned into an all compelling desire. Pushing through the searing pain and standing on shaking legs she reached out for the handle once more and touched it. In that moment all other things faded out of existence. The fierce battle between light and dark behind her suddenly felt insignificant, the army of Anzati that surrounded the prison felt small.

She failed to notice how she glowed with a golden light so caught up on the overwhelming feeling of power that was surging through her, banishing all her pain as if it were an after thought.

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><p>Volfe Karkko smiled, he liked it when his prey fought back. 'He is only delaying the inevitable,' he thought to himself as he locked his red blade with his opponent's green.<p>

It was amusing to him to watch the Jedi struggle so hard. It only made it that much sweeter when he realised his fate.

Disengaging, he executed a series of quick slashes that left the Jedi open to attack. Instead of ending the Kiffar he blasted him with his potent Sith lightning not wanting to end it so soon.

The Jedi quickly folded under the onslaught, screaming in pain.

"How does it feel little Jedi," he taunted, "this is what a real master can do."

A golden light interrupted his fun and he turned from the unconscious Jedi towards the glow, ceasing the stream of lightning from his finger tips as he did so.

He beheld his traitorous apprentice standing in front of the gate, glowing. Cursing when he realised she was going to open his he sprung forwards, extending his hand and unleashing his Sith lightning upon her once again.

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><p>Aayla pulled on the handle, feeling a resistance. The Force, as she had come to recognise the ancient consciousness as, pulsed in a satisfying way as she continued to heave on the ridiculously heavy gate.<p>

She heard the lightning as it approached her but she couldn't stop, not now, not when she was so close!

She grit her teeth as it impacted her and fresh pain exploded throughout her body. Screaming in both pain and effort she yanked on the gate until, finally, she felt something give way and the gate began to slowly respond to her efforts.

The gate opened to reveal a bright white abyss with a tall silhouette standing facing her. Aayla gasped at the figure before her. It was unlike anything she had seen before.

It stood tall, had two long horns on it's head and long, waist length hair. Claws adorned the toes and a sword was limply clutched in it's right hand.

Aayla looked up at the glowing yellow eyes that seemed to stare deep into her soul.

The glow left her and the feeling of dominance that accompanied the Force faded from her and unable to bare the pain of the Sith technique any longer, Aayla collapsed to the floor. Her vision dimming as screams of pain ripped out of her throat.

"Foolish girl!" Yelled Karkko, spittle flying from his lips as he poured his rage into maintaining his technique, "I'll kill you!"

Through the pain Aayla turned her head one last time to look up at the figure that now stood right on the threshold of crossing in. She raised a trembling hand to it.

The yellow eyes bored into her own.

"…Protect… Her…" The voice had a unique double echo quality to it, "Protect.. You."

It crossed through the gate and roared.

That was the last thing that Aayla heard before she drifted into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

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><p>Master Yoda sat by an awake, but weak, Aayla Secura's bedside in the medical facility at the Jedi temple.<p>

"I'm sorry master!" Aayla cried, tears running down her face. "I'm a failure to the Jedi code."

She lowered her gaze expecting harsh words and punishment, she had after all done what was strictly forbidden in embracing the dark side.

"Failure you are not," said the old Jedi reaching out and lifting her face. "Patience, Aayla. A Jedi you still are, and with you is the strength to overcome. But believe it, you must."

"Ok." Aayla said and she shifted back on her bed, laying down to rest some more.

"Remember you must," Yoda said, "the Force leads us towards not what we always want, but what we need."

His last words said, Yoda smiled and hopped off the chair before hobbling away. The door to the rest area closed and Aayla began to drift off to sleep, her dreams filled with glowing yellow eyes.

**END chapter 1**

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><p>So there it is!<p>

Leave a review and tell me what you thought!

About pairing, this will be a slow building Aayla/Ichigo pairing and will more than likely not become a harem. Also slow building means just that! SLOW, so don't expect any declarations of undying love anytime soon in coming chapters.

Any questions? Either leave a review or pm me!

~Blue.


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